The Church





The Tv suddenly switched from what I was watching to the news channel.

“Attention! Julius Ivan has recently informed us that the Church would like to make an announcement at this time,” announced the man on the TV.

It’s nine o'clock on an October night in 2034. The Church is very important to this society but only because the government has failed to keep control of Vulton city. The Church is separate from all others around the world, so we have our own ruler who is Julius Ivan. Most things are made of metal or stone. The streets are made of cobblestone, and the building are made of a dark metal or wood. This city is huge with massive factories towering over everything. It’s surrounded by metal walls which only have one way to enter and exit along with a sea port on the other side. The city is mostly run with hydro power and water ducts run throughout every street. The Julius Ivan was shown on the TV screen ready to make his announcement.

“My good people of Vulton,” said the Julius, “ we are here to announce the rising power of the Church. As everyone can see, the government has failed to keep order among the people and is growing weak. Because of this complication the Church is taking over the city. Although this may sound troubling to many people, you are allowed to leave if you wish. You will have one day to pack and leave with whatever transportation you can use. From the moment of five o’clock tomorrow night, there is no leaving or entering the city. We will have supplies brought to us one day every month by cargo boats, so there is no need to worry. That is all we need to say.”

I had nothing to think at the moment. I have never believed in the Church or Christianity, but I am willing to give it a chance.

My eyes open to bright light pouring through the window onto my face. I peered through the window to see the families leaving.

Now its the end of the day, and about one fifth of the city has left. The streets seem a little less noisy, but life is continuing like any other day..

My head shifted and looked at the clock. It said 10 am. I moved the blankets and stood up, took a shower, and then put my robe on. It’s been two weeks since the church has risen to the full power, but the only change I have noticed is the number of guards and police.Wearing robes is also a requirement that the church has enforced..

I stepped outside. Steam rises from the warm streets into the cool air and I can see smoke spilling out of the smokestacks on the factories. People walked throughout the streets, but there are only a couple cars. Whoever had a car needed to be careful though because at night they will be picked apart by people who need money. We have used up most of the earths oil and almost nobody could afford the expensive cars with steam or electric powered engines. Everyone had a grey robe on with the hood drooping over their faces and not too many people like the new change. I don't see any problem with it though.

The streets were crowded at the market. There was at least two hundred stands spread throughout it with chickens raving in their cages and people shouting at others to buy their products. My shoes clicked on the stone as I started to walk by the sea port. People lay in allies dying left and right. There was even a woman across the street who I saw die the night before. It looks like ravens have been picking her apart for hours. The smell was sickening. Three huge cargo ships were docked to unload supplies. Thousands of seagulls are flying in circles above the ships screaming to each other. Strong men are walking quickly on the docks moving huge wooden boxes full of food and other supplies. There are even oil drums for the people that can afford it. Not too many people bought the oil. Some people worked in the factories but other than that, most were poor. There were hundreds of guards around the sea port to make sure no one would leave.

I can see a man squirming up some rope on the side of the dock. He lifted himself up and hid behind some boxes, but as he reached the walkway leading up to the ship a guard had spotted him.

“Stop! No one leaves the city, citizen,” said the guard.


“I cannot stay in this city any longer. You must allow me to leave. Our secret. Please,” cried the citizen.

The guard went silent with annoyance, but the citizen ran at him. The guard raised a metal rod about three feet long and struck him in the stomach.

“ Come with us. You belong in cuffs,” said the guard, who then grabbed him by the back of the neck and began to walk off towards the Church.

This city isn't very big. It was more like a big town because I could see the Church in the center towering over buildings, not too far off. The population was only around ten thousand. I began to walk over to hear Julius Ivan's scheduled speech in front of the Church at noon. As I walked down the street, I passed a raised wooden platform which was about twenty feet by ten feet. I knew the rules would be strict, but I had never thought that the church would go back to some of the ways of the Medieval church, such as torture. On top were two men and a woman. The man to the far left was in a head vice with a black bag over his head and appeared to be dead. There was a sign posted next to him which stated that he was a homosexual, which is a sin, so for his punishment he is being tortured. The other two people next to him were a couple that were having their teeth broken and cracked by men from the church. All of the blood made me sick . The sign next to them stated that they are Jewish and have refused to convert to Christianity. I had no idea that this was such a problem. I turned and started walking towards the church when the Julius had come to the podium.

“My people of Vulton, I am here to talk about these changes. You see your friends being punished and tortured thinking its cruel. You don't see it at the proper angle though. These people are being punished for their sin and disobedience to the church along with God. We are trying to make a society that God will accept, a society in which everyone may enter the paradise of Heaven. As long as you obey the church and don't sin, you will be left alone. We have a display for you to show how devoted we are to these changes. This may help you see the severity of the situation,” announced Julius Ivan, while the guards moved the man in the head vice close to the podium. “This man here has sinned. He is a homosexual which will only send you to the bowels of brimstone.”

People in the crowd threw small items and yelled. No one liked this. A guard still walked in front of the man and removed the hood. I’m not able to breathe or talk. It’s my brother. My heart began to pump vigorously and I quickly pushed through the crowd.

“Michael,” I shouted. “Michael.”

I reached the line of guards and three of them approached me with raised metal rods. My feet won't stop moving..

“Back off citizen. We will not warn you again. Step back,” screamed the guard.

I paid no attention to his warning, and before I knew it, my stomach had been struck by one of the metal rods. Another hit me in the neck. I stumbled but kept pushing. I reached the stage and grabbed whatever I saw first. A rock was at my feet, I grabbed it, and jumped onto the platform. I rushed at Julius Ivan and before he had time to react and I had hit him in the head. And again. And again. His white robes along with mine had been stained with his blood. Before I even got up, I was struck in the head by a guard and everything went black.